Another in on the Secret
by starryblueboxes
Summary: After a shocking discovery Deryn and Alek find themselves in some trouble...
1. Chapter 1 Discovery

_This is my first fan-fiction. Anyways I just got done reading Behemoth and I'm seriously obsessed with these characters…enough to write a story about them! I hope you enjoy it! Scott Westerfeld is the author who wrote the Leviathan series.  
this is an idea of how Deryn could be exposed, probably not gonna happen though but oh well. =D _

Deryn had always been careful about the times that she could bathe. If the need ever came, she would have to sneak into the wash rooms at the middle of the night as a precaution so she wouldn't be caught. Often she would just skip the bathing rituals as did the most of the ship's crew. There was always too much to do and hygiene seemed quite pointless when you were going to get dirt under your nails a few minutes after.

Still, Deryn was human, and she needed to wash every once in a while just like every daft git around. Any sane lad would even agree that she deserved the nice warm water against her skin after all the trouble she'd been in while her stay at Istanbul. When Deryn had been sure that not a soul was up she had welcomed the warmth that the liquid had given her with bliss. For a moment, she could relax.

As Deryn was beginning to get dressed a hard knock came at the door. She jumped in shock and then glared. What would a person be doing up at this hour? She assumed that it would be Dr. Barlow. The Doctor was always having Deryn do odd jobs for her at unusual times of the day. She should have known that she wouldn't get a proper chance to relax. A daft idea it was anyways.

"Just a wee bit!" Deryn called, sure to use her boy voice.

"Mr. Sharp!" a familiar male voice called, and Deryn tried to change quickly into her Midshipman's uniform. The man at the door must have not had barking patience because as Deryn was sliding her trousers on, the door to the washroom clamored open.

"Dylan there's a…" Alek started, Newkirk interrupted him though to say "Blisters! You're a…"

Deryn had the urge to cover herself before she remembered that she was covered, she had a white undershirt on, just not the top of her uniform. It clearly didn't hide her obvious female parts from the two lads but there was no point trying to conceal her secret from them now. Instead she pulled her riggers knife from her pants pocket and held it up to Newkirk's throat. "Another word from you Mr. Newkirk and I'll toss you out of a barking window!" she threatened, then she snuck a wee glance at Alek and her heart sank.

Alek stood off to the side behind Newkirk, mouth gaping, with a confused yet still angry expression. Bovril sat on the young archduke's shoulder, and when Deryn looked at the beastie it giggled. "_Mr._ Sharp!" Deryn glared.

"D-Dylan…" Alek tried.

Deryn cut him off, she didn't want to, couldn't even, answer that question right there, in front of the bum rag Newkirk. "Why are you two barging into the washroom like this? What has happened?"

Newkirk struggled against Deryn's chokehold and reluctantly she took the knife away from his throat. "Tell my secret to anyone and I swear to you, your midshipman's status will be removed as quickly as mine."

Newkirk scoffed, as if Deryn was suddenly less threatening. Of course the ninny would do that _after_ she'd taken the knife from his throat! Her fists clenched. "I still have the same amount of skill Mr. Newkirk, and I saved your life. You _owe_ me. Do not think you are more superior to me because you were too barking daft to find out my secret sooner!" Bovril jumped from Alek's shoulder and sunk his claws into the exposed flesh of Deryn's arm. She winced as the wee beastie climbed onto her shoulder. "_Mr. _Sharp!" it said again and then broke out into a fit of giggles. Deryn kept her hard stare trained on Newkirk.

"aye, I'll keep your secret." He said after what seemed like minutes of consideration. "only because you have a life debt over my shoulders." He said regretfully.

Deryn wanted to take her already balled up fist and hit Mr. Newkirk in the face for thinking she was any different because she was a girl but the prince interrupted her raging thoughts.

"As much as I'd like to know what in Gods Wounds is going on, we don't have time. We'll sort this out on a later note." Alek glowered at Deryn and she felt a choked feeling at the back of her throat. No, she would not cry, she was already in a tough enough spot. "A zeppelin has been spotted circling the _Leviathan_ and the captain wants Mr. Sharp on deck." He then sent one more confused glare at Deryn and started to turn to leave.

Deryn watched the boy walk away, her heart beating erratically. She knew she couldn't do anything right then so with a threatening glance at Newkirk to be sure he didn't forget his promise she nodded. "be up in a squick."


	2. Chapter 2 Signs

_Okay here is chapter two. Sorry if it's not super exciting, I wanted to do an awesome action-battle- fight scene sort of thing but I suck at that kind of stuff so I decided to change the plot a lil' bit. I promise I will work hard on the parts that will really need action-battle-fight scenes though. Hope you enjoy!_

Standing at one of the engines, Alek had to squint to see the German zeppelin circling the sky. The ships residents weren't sure what to do; the warplane hadn't shot at the ship and it posed no visible threat at that moment. They were preparing the Flechette Bats, readying the Huxley's for the Air Bombs, and had the hydrogen sniffers smelling every nook and crevice for leaks. Despite all these precautions though, the _Leviathan _wouldn't attack unless the plane struck the ship first.

"What do you suppose he's waiting for?" Alek asked as the zeppelin circled the ship for the second time after he'd come back from his search for Dylan…well, he guessed that he hadn't been looking for Dylan so much as the girl who had been faking an identity as a midshipman, and friend.

"What are _we_ waiting for?" Master Klopp asked impatiently. Klopp's inquiry gave Alek a chance to take his anger and confusion of the recent events off of his mind and focus on what was happening in the present. "The Zeppelin is in our sites! We should remove it before it removes us!" he continued.

Alek, Mr. Hirst, and Count Volger, all snuck wary glances at the mechanic before turning their gazes back to the fighter plane. Alek kept his eye on Klopp a bit longer than the rest, feeling as if it were his fault. Ever since they had returned from Istanbul, and Klopp had begun to heal from his wounds, he had seemed somewhat out of sorts, like something in the man's mind had changed. Alek assumed that it was being up in the air on the Darwinist Beast that had Master Klopp in a twist, but he couldn't be sure. Maybe Klopp's life was just changing. It seemed to Alek that everything had changed since Istanbul.

Alek looked back to the circling aeroplane as its spotlight stretched across the deck temporarily blinding those in its reach. He once again had to squint against the night, but at his second glance he thought he saw something. He looked from Klopp to Volger, and lastly to Mr. Hirst wondering if they could see what Alek could scarcely make out. "I don't think that that Zeppelin has any weapons…" he finally admitted.

Mr. Hirst was the first to respond "Indeed sir," he said.

"The Dummkoph!" Klopp exclaimed, "What zeppelin does not carry weapons?"

"It appears that it is searching for something…" Volger announced thoughtfully.

As the Count had mentioned his statement Alek noticed slight movement in the corner of his eye. He slowly turned to his right with enough time to see one of the officers beginning to make signals at sky as the spotlight from the plane landed on him. For a brief second the young prince wished he had paid more attention at the time when Dylan had been practicing his signs and Alek had only picked fun. He sighed, Dylan wasn't Dylan anymore and he refused to think about _that_ at the time.

Instead he watched the officer closely, trying to memorize every sign the man made as best as he could. He felt a sinking sort of suspicion from this man. There were no Huxley's in the air yet. Alek could only come to the conclusion that he was signaling to the enemy. Alek would show the signs to Bovril later. The Loris, at least, had memorized the alphabet in signs, and would be a great help to him.

The spotlight on the mysterious crew member blinked once, as if in confirmation, and then the man stopped signing. He then casually left his post and disappeared into the darkness. Alek tried to watch him but lost sight after only a couple of yards.

He could hear the Zeppelin in retreat as the man left and suddenly Alek knew that the plane had posed no threat to the Leviathan from the start, it just needed something that the man had promised he had.

"It fears me greatly to see you so attached to that little beast," a voice said in disgust.

Alek jumped at Count Volger's unexpected entrance, then calmed his nerves again and continued to pet Bovril behind the ear the way the little Loris liked it. Bovril made an exhausted sighing sound and Alek couldn't help but smile. "It's just like having a pet dog or cat," Alek explained. "it's quite…nice." He admitted. All of Alek's life he had never had a pet to call his own. He never could have imagined that something so small or even irrelevant could be so _soothing_.

"Nice," Bovril agreed.

It looked as if the Count shivered before he sat down at the table and motioned for Alek to join him. Alek put the beastie on the windowsill and then pulled out the extra chair to sit.  
Volger set his hands together and his fingers made a tent, he leaned over the table to look Alek straight in the eye. "Something has been troubling your mind recently Your Highness. What is it?"

Alek raised an eyebrow at the question. To him it seemed to be a question that had more meaning than the man had meant.

What was Alek thinking of?

He had come into his room the night before, ready to ask the Perspicacious Loris what the signs he had tried to remember meant, but Bovril was feeling glum and needed comforting. Maybe Alek was the one who had needed the comforting, he couldn't be sure.

He had then spent the rest of the night talking to Bovril about his _thoughts_. During most of the words spoken between them, the little creature kept silent, occasionally it would repeat a word or a full sentence as if it had understood what Alek was saying but it mostly had just listened.

Alek would have liked to tell Count Volger the truth, that he hadn't caught any sleep the night before because of a mess of tangled thoughts about _miss_ sharp. He felt completely devastated that his only friend he had ever had who had not been required to teach and/or protect him had turned out to be a fraud. He couldn't understand how anyone could betray him that way, he was a prince! He had trusted her with his greatest secrets!

The boy didn't want to tell Volger this though. He wanted to find out his own solution and prove to the Count and the other men that he didn't need to depend on them so much anymore. He would figure out how to deal with the girl eventually.

This was also why Alek wouldn't mention his theories of the mysterious crewman the night before either. He _knew_ that he could form a logical and right answer without the help of adults, and he would do so, as a true leader would. If he were to be the Archduke of Austria-Hungary one day then he would have to practice independently thinking, and this moment seemed more perfect to Alek than any other could be.

"I'm just troubled about that zeppelin," Alek said carefully. He had to stay to part of the truth because he'd been recently warned of how terrible of a liar he could be.  
"Indeed, I've worried about the happenings of last night myself." Volger fell silent, seemingly deep in thought. He looked suspiciously at Alek. "Where was Mr. Sharp last night? I did not see him at the engine."

At the mention of Alek's reformed friend, his expression changed from tired to mildly annoyed. "Feeding the Flechette Bats, I assume."

"Are you angry at the boy?" The Count asked with a devious smile playing across his features.

Alek crossed his arms and scoffed, "Yes, we had a fight,"

"Barking Mad!" Bovril chimed in with a tone recognizable as Dylan's. Alek shook his head and continued "I will only say to you that you were wrong about Mr. Sharp being completely guileless…"

Volger looked amused and tried to press Alek for what had happened but he refused to let the man know. Soon Alek got tired of the Count's questioning and ordered him to leave. As the Count was exiting the little room he muttered something about having a poor attitude before disappearing through the door. Bovril climbed up onto his shoulder then, and nestled its head under his chin. "S_uch a prince,"_ the Perspicacious Loris cooed. Alek sighed.


	3. Chapter 3 Mistake

_sorry about the last chapter when Volger started to talk to Alek but there wasn't anything to mark that they weren't still on the skydeck. i tried to fix it but my computer is being wacky so it had to stay like that. _

"Barking, posh speaking, clanker!" Deryn said out loud to the wind.

She stood staring over the deck of the _Leviathan_ at the thousands of feet below that seemed to pass by at a snail's pace. At least being up in the air had a way of comforting her, she should treasure this freedom before her worst fears became a reality. It terrified her to think that her days as an airman could be over in less than a squick, all because she had made another bloody mistake.

She sighed as she thought of what she would soon have to face. The night before, Deryn had gotten Newkirk to swear himself to secrecy, and she didn't worry that the man would tell. If anything Newkirk's pride was too big to admit that he had been fooled by a girl. As long as her fellow middie wasn't held captive by any enemy and forced to give information by unimaginable clanker tortures, Deryn felt that she could trust her secret with him.

It had taken Deryn an entire sleepless night and most of that next morning before she realized that she hadn't asked Alek to keep those lips of his closed, he had never agreed to keep her secret. If the Archduke really wanted to, he could tell the captain and have Deryn off the ship in less than a minute. A sick feeling crept into Deryn's stomach as she remembered the angry look in Alek's eye the night before, look of disgust reserved only for her. She might as well go pack her bag because she doubted that the Prince would keep quiet. He couldn't keep secrets to begin with; it was foolish of her to think she didn't need to have Alek swear his secrecy to her as well.

Her nerves had been on high alert all morning as she had tried to prepare herself for what the captain would say if he called her down the bridge and demanded her to leave, she hadn't even been able to properly eat breakfast without jumping like an overly excited Tazza.

She knew she would be required to go back to Glasgow, wear dresses and skirts, brush her hair, wear makeup and stop _swearing_. Sadly that wasn't the worst of things that Deryn would face if she had to return back to Scotland. She would have to confront her mother and explain why she had defied her orders and 'ran away' to do something as disgraceful as join the service. Her mother would never understand why Deryn had to join. Even Jaspert, the family member that she had been closest to since Da's death, never completely understood her need to fly. Deryn didn't think that she could give away flight as easily as they all would expect her to. Flying was part of her, she couldn't live without it, and if she was ordered to leave the ship, well what would she do with herself then?

Maybe if Deryn was sent off the ship she would simply run away. She would never go back to Glasgow. She could stay undercover her whole life, board another airship. The _Leviathan _didn't have to be the last opportunity that would grant her the gift to fly. In fact, Deryn knew that she could find another air service that would gladly take her. What airship wouldn't want someone as talented as Dylan Sharp? Still, it was so bloody unfair to be a born a girl! She could do everything and more better than the crewmembers on the_ Leviathan _but because of the daft barking times she could never admit her true identity, or another mess like the one would arise.

Deryn had to force herself to calm down. She hadn't been taken fighting and screaming off of the ship yet, so perhaps Alek hadn't told anyone. Her thoughts began to turn hopeful. Maybe Alek didn't care that she was a girl, maybe now she could tell him how she really felt, and maybe he would accept her feelings, possibly even…

_Stop!_ She scolded herself. _You are Dylan Sharp, a decorated soldier of the royal air service, not some daft lassie mooning over a boy!_

She sighed and suddenly knew what she had to do. She needed to find Alek and talk to him or she'd never get her nerves under control again.

* * *

"Mr. Sharp! Thank heavens I found you!" Dr. Barlow exclaimed wrapping one arm around Deryn's shoulder. The doctor steered her around, turning full circle and said "I need you to take Tazza on a walk."

Deryn sighed and looked at the Boffin "Aye, I will."

Dr. Barlow nodded impatiently as they walked closer to her chamber. "I need you to watch over the Perspicacious Loris as well." Deryn began to protest, she still needed to find Alek, but Barlow wouldn't stand for it. "I will be back shortly after my meeting with the captain."

Curiosity sparked inside her, Deryn looked over at Dr. Barlow "What will you and the captain be discussing?" she prodded.

She sent Deryn a sly smile, "I can't discuss these matters with you Mr. Sharp, you're only a midshipman after all, hardly the type to trust with top secret information." They came to Dr. Barlow's room and she took her key to unlock the door. "Now hurry," she said gently pushing against Deryn's back to guide her into the room, as if Deryn were incapable to enter on her own. "The Loris can become quite lonely. Oh, and Tazza may be restless he's been in my room all day."

Deryn walked the rest of the way into the doctor's room before the door behind her closed. She sighed as the Perspicacious Loris came over to greet her. "Dylan!" it exclaimed. It had been calling her that ever since Alek had mentioned her "name" while the two had been explaining in better detail what had happened in Istanbul. She felt grateful at least the wee beastie was only saying "Dylan" and not constantly calling her "_Mr. _Sharp" in Volger's tone of sarcasm as Bovril had.

"Aye it's me." Deryn replied coming over to sit at the Lady Boffin's table. Her Loris scampered over to her and climbed up her shoulder.

Tazza came rounding the corner backing onto her hind legs and jumping up and down in excitement. Deryn stood up then and patted the thylacine on the head before going off to find its leash. "Come on Tazza," she said "better to venture through the ship than stay caged in here." Tazza jumped happily as Deryn managed to get the leash around his neck.

Deryn went to the door with Tazza leading and the Loris hanging onto her shoulder. "Hold on boy," she said as he nudged the door with his nose. Deryn began to turn the knob and open the door. Someone was standing on the other side.

"Barking spiders!" she said jumping a yard at Alek's sudden appearance.

Alek dropped his hand that had been ready to knock at the door and narrowed his eyes "What are _you_ doing here?" he asked accusingly.

Deryn looked down her nose at the spoiled prince, "Taking Tazza for a walk. Dr. Barlow's orders. Can I help you?"

Alek scoffed at her condescendingly "There is nothing that _you_ could help me with. I was looking for Dr. Barlow."

Deryn's fingers balled into a fist and she thought of how amusing it would be to see the _Archduke_ _of_ _Austria_ traipsing all over the ship with a barking black eye! To avoid really hitting the bum-rag, she crossed her arms tightly over her chest and arched an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" she asked anger rising.

Alek glared at her, eyes set. "I do not need your help." He stated simply. Deryn felt a jerk of emotion pull at her, she fought to hide it. "Where is Dr. Barlow?" he asked.

"In a meeting with the Captain, it'll be a while before she is done." She lied. "I can take a message if you wish."

Alek shook his head in disagreement and looked up at Deryn. He had actually grown a wee bit since he and Deryn had first met, but she was still taller than him. "Just let her know I stopped by." He said hastily.

"Will do, your Archdukeliness." Deryn said gritting her teeth. Alek rolled his eyes before he turned to head down the hallway. Deryn unclenched her fist and slammed the door behind him. "Bum-rag!" she yelled as the Perspicacious Loris, which was still clinging to her shoulder and had stayed unusually quiet during the spat between Alek and her, giggled uncontrollably.


	4. Chapter 4 Talk

_Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story so far! __Um, it takes place after behemoth, but it's not really about Goliath (I don't think so anyways) Also, I'm very sorry if Alek seems a little bit inconsistent and confusing. I tried to fix it in this chapter though. These chapters seem to get longer and longer as I go. Oh well, enjoy!_

Alek sighed and looked frustratingly at the Perspicacious Loris. The two had been trying to translate the signs Alek had seen for what seemed like hours. Bovril had picked up quickly and had eagerly translated all but one of the signs. Sadly though, Alek felt that the last sign would be the one to tie the message together somehow.

"Semaphore signals?" a voice asked at his door. Alek turned slightly to see Miss. Sharp in the doorway with a morning tray of breakfast in her hands. She had a smirk on her face that looked undeniably strained and wore the midshipman's uniform that must have been perfectly tailored to disguise her true identity.

Alek shrugged and stepped away from Bovril as the little beast happily jumped off of the table and scuttled up onto the girls shoulder. "I feel I should learn." He stated "So many people use them on this ship, it may become useful."

"A…D…Y…" The Bovril spelled out. The girl looked at him in slight confusion and then entered the room without permission. "I brought you breakfast Your Highness." she said placing his meal on the table.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced at the door where Mr. Tolhurst normally walked in every morning with breakfast and a nice chat. He wondered if Tolhurst would still come in today, ignorant to the fact that the ships decorated soldier _Mr. _Sharp had brought breakfast beforehand.

"Uhh, don't worry about him," she began as if reading Alek's mind. "I told Mr. Tolhurst that our morning jobs had changed." Her smile faltered as she took a step closer "I need to talk to you."

Alek nodded as he moved past her and sat at the table, he politely motioned for her to take the extra seat then he rested his elbows on the surfaces and folded his fingers to make a tent. "You do have a lot to explain." He said.

Miss Sharp did not join him at the table. Instead she crossed her arms over her chest and stuck out her hip. Alek realized then that he had seen her do this plenty of times when the Midshipman had gotten aggravated but had never thought anything of it until now. It amazed him how many clues there had been that he would have never seen. "Aye," she agreed gritting her teeth. "but you've been the dummkopf who's been avoiding me for three barking days!" she tapped her foot and waited for Alek's response.

He looked away, feeling exactly like what she had called him, a dummkopf. How could he not avoid her after what had happened? She had lied to him and everyone on the Leviathan. He didn't know if he could trust her anymore the way he had trusted Dylan. Alek knew though that the real reason he had been avoiding her hadn't had anything to do with what her secret. He knew that he could and would eventually accept and get over the lies but what really had upset him so much was the behavior he had had towards her that day. He had been angry and confused, he'd felt betrayed and didn't want to talk to her, he had just run into her in the wrong place at the wrong time. Alek knew it was wrong and undignified, and he wouldn't let those reasons become excuses for his actions.

The past three days hadn't been easy for Alek either. He was wracked with guilt from the moment that he had walked away from Dr. Barlow's room those few days ago. He had wanted to apologize to her immediately but had held off for three days for fear of what she might say. He had missed her, or at least the friendship he had shared with Dylan, and he knew that nothing was stopping him from asking forgiveness for her ill treatment now. If he didn't, the guilt would just add up and he would feel terrible forever. "Listen Dyl…Miss Sharp, I'm sorry for how I…"

"Blisters!" she interrupted, a smile spreading across her face. "No need to apologize!" she finally sat in the seat across from him, chuckling in relief. "I thought that you wouldn't stand to hear a barking word I say! But you're in a better mood, I can tell."

Alek couldn't deny it, he was less angry. He had sorted through some of his feelings and had decided that, for whatever reason she had joined the service, it was obviously the only way that she could have entered the ship. In a way, Alek was grateful that she had gone into disguise onto the _Leviathan_ if she wouldn't have, he probably would have never ended up on this ship. He would still be stuck in Switzerland, bored out of his mind while the war waged on in other countries around him. He still wasn't sure how he felt about his only true friend turning out to be one of the biggest liars he knew, but he wasn't angry.

"You haven't blethered my secret, have you?" she asked, a threat at the edge of her voice. Alek remembered when Newkirk had almost blurted out their discovery and the girl had fearlessly placed a knife against his throat. Would she do something like that to him? _of course she would!_ He thought _she already has!_ But the time when she had held the knife to Alek's throat it had been the dull edge. Alek suspected that she had done the same to Mr. Newkirk. He decided that she wasn't the type to do such a thing and bravely asked "Should I?" he stood up then, feeling a need to pace. "War is too dangerous for women, you should have never come onto this ship."

Within a heartbeat Miss Sharp was out of her seat as well. She grabbed Alek's wrist, jerking him toward her and forced him to meet her eye. She let go once their gazes met, but Alek could still feel a faint tingle where her finger shad met his skin. He tried to casually shake it away. "That's a bunch of clart!" she announced. "No matter the bloody rules, I am better than most any daft man on this ship! I can take care of myself! I…" she stopped suddenly and sighed. "I know lassies aren't supposed to join the service Alek, but I…have to fly." She looked down at her feet; Alek watched her face, thinking that he saw a hint of tears in the corner of her blue eyes. "Plus I kept every barking secret you own." She mumbled.

Alek nodded then, even if he did feel as if it were wrong, he did owe her something for protecting his secrets as much as she possibly could. He also knew that back in Istanbul he had witnessed that Dylan had been less cheery when not on the airbeast, he could believe her need to fly, even if he didn't know why she couldn't find some different way to do it. "I understand." He said, her eyes widened and met his again in shock. He continued "I'll keep your secret since you've stayed faithful to keeping mine."

Alek had never seen a person's smile stretch so wide across their face as the girl's did. She held her hand out and Alek stared a moment, wondering what she meant to do, holding her hand out like that. "Promise?" she asked seeming hopeful.

"Oh!" Alek said feeling very ignorant. He blushed; no one had ever made him feel so dim except for maybe Volger. It seemed that the Count always wanted to make him feel insignificant though. A commoner doing so seemed awkward to him. "I promise." He said shaking her hand.

Her happiness seemed to grow and Alek couldn't figure out why. Did staying on the ship really mean so much to her? He had to admit, if only to himself, that he liked making her happy, it wasn't so bad.

"Can we still be friends?" She asked. The grin that had slipped onto Alek's face fell. He still didn't know if he could completely trust her. He didn't know if Dylan and her were different or similar or what any of it even meant. Had he ever really even known Dylan? The sad truth was, no. Alek had been tricked and still felt betrayed, but did that mean that they couldn't try to mend their friendship, no matter how uncomfortable it may start out as? He didn't know.

"I don't think I even know your real name!" He said as an excuse to not answer right away.

He watched her, waiting for her response as he wondered how he could have ever believed that she was a boy. Despite the boyish haircut, and the carefully tailored clothes, the girl could barely pass as a boy. Alek assumed that the longer he knew of her secret, and the more time he spent with her, the more feminine features he would begin to see in her.

She looked at the clock hanging above the bed and looked startled by the time, she turned back to Alek. "I'm Deryn Sharp," She said taking a step towards the door. She stopped again and glanced over at him. "And I did try to tell you before Alek. I know it doesn't change that I'm a ninny for lying, but I just wanted you to know. Once at the doorway she stopped again, "The sign was a four."

"Four," Bovril repeated, jumping off of Deryn's shoulder and then climbing onto the window that the creature liked to sunbathe at.

Deryn nodded. "Aye, I need to be going now. If we're lucky the ship will land in Japan by tomorrow evening. We have to prepare for arrival." She thought a moment, then continued. "Plus we have to be on guard about all barking day because of that Zeppelin that passed by a few days ago. Do you know anything about it?" she asked.

Alek shook his head and she stood there, studying his features for a moment. Then Deryn Sharp shrugged her shoulders, muttered a quick goodbye, and rushed to whatever job she had to do next.

Alek fell onto his bed and stared at the ceiling pondering over the sign Deryn had translated for him.

It made sense now that he thought about it. Deryn had only been practicing the alphabet that day, so of course the Loris wouldn't have known any numbers. He was a Perspicacious creature; he couldn't just pull needed knowledge out of thin air.

"Breakfast," Bovril reminded him. Alek nodded, now that he knew the message he was going to have to get some answers quickly. A nice big breakfast would be just the thing to jumpstart his day. Miss Sharp wouldn't be the only one to have a busy day today.

* * *

Alek had been searching all day for the man who had signaled that Zeppelin. He didn't know much about him but he did know that the man helped with the engines occasionally. Finally he found him.

Finally Alek found him when he had almost given up and had begun to head back to his room. Alek had been walking down the hallway, watching message lizards run back and forth carrying words to and from members of the ship. He had been so engrossed in his observing that had had almost collided right into the man.

The adult held his hand to his heart taking in a deep breath. "Prince Aleksander! You scared me!" he said in English.

Alek's eyes widened, he checked to make sure that it was who he had seen the few nights before. When he was certain it was he said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

The man shrugged and held out a hand. "No problem, I'm Mr. Woods."

Alek took his hand and shook. "Pleased to meet you Sir. Actually, I was just recently searching for you. I saw you the other night when that Zeppelin had been circling and I had some questions I would like to ask you."

Mr. Woods looked at a watch on his wrist and then wrapped an arm around Alek's shoulder, steering him away from the rooms. "Well, I'll be happy to answer them. Let's go outside though. It's becoming such a wonderful night."

Alek thought that the man was acting strange but didn't think anything of it right away. When they got out onto the sky deck they were both silent. Mr. Woods seemed to be examining the sky. "So Mr. Woods, I was wondering about the semaphore signs I saw you making the other night…" Alek started.

Mr. Woods saw something in the darkening sky and smiled. "Yes," he said following the almost invisible object with his eyes "I imagined that someone would see."

"Why were you…" Alek started, but then stopped when the strange man grabbed hold of him. "Hey! Let go!" he struggled to get free but couldn't break away.

"Hold tight Your Highness." Mr. Woods said, then the two were falling off of the _Leviathan_ into the dark abyss below.


	5. Chapter 5 Kidnapped

_Mehh, I don't think I did this chapter very well. I feel like I left a bunch of stuff out, but it wouldn't have fit with the story if I had kept them in, so sorry. =[  
Scott Westerfeld is so freakin' awesome, obviously without him none of this would be possible to write.  
So here's chapter 5:_

"Blisters! You barking ninny!" Deryn shouted, taking her frustrations out on both Mr. Newkirk and the barking Archduke of Austria. She signed frantically once again down to the Midshipman who was supposed to be watching her in case she saw something that would need instant notification. Like now!

Newkirk of course was disregarding his duties to the ship by succumbing to his fears. Down on the spine they had the hydrogen sniffers out, making their rounds once more before the night was over. The Monkey Luddite was too focused on making sure that the sniffers didn't come near him to see Deryn up in the Huxley trying to catch his bloody attention. Deryn looked around the perimeter of the spine urgently. There were plenty of people down there; _someone_ had to see her persistent semaphores.

"Newkirk!" she shouted. There was a fat chance that he could hear her, but at this point Deryn was desperate. A crewmember down at the deck at last noticed her and tapped the midshipman on the shoulder. When he had Newkirk's attention he pointed up at Deryn. _Finally!_ She thought.

Newkirk began to reel the Huxley in as Deryn glanced to her right where she had just seen a traitor crewmember jump off of the edge of the ship with Alek. She wanted to beat the barking prince across the head for not telling her what little he had probably known. Since she had left his room that morning she'd known that Alek had been lying. It wasn't because he was a bloody terrible liar, frankly he'd been getting better at it, it had been the signs that Alek had been practicing with the wee beastie that had let Deryn know he wasn't being truthful.

Clearly Alek had seen someone making the signs. If he had truly been trying to learn semaphores, he would have been learning the alphabet, not spelling out _4 days_. Sure the dummkopf had gotten the word mixed up but it hadn't confused Deryn for long. She just couldn't figure out what it had meant.

If Alek would have told Deryn, she could have warned him. She had thought that he was smart enough to know not to talk to strangers, but the prince obviously hadn't learned that in his private tutor sessions before. Now he had gone and done it and she would have to fix it!

The first thing Deryn did when she finally reached the spine was smack Newkirk across the head. "Bum-rag!" she yelled at him. Newkirk held his head and looked at her. "I'm sorry…Dylan. I didn't know!"

"Aye," she said rushing towards the captain's quarters. "and Alek's the one to barking suffer from it! Go get some rope and jump off the ship!"

Newkirk stopped in his tracks, grabbing Deryn's arm. She reluctantly slowed to look at him. "What?" he asked in shock.

Deryn's hands clamped into fist, she didn't have time for this. "Someone just jumped off of the barking ship with Alek as hostage! Go get him!"

Newkirk nodded and then turned to find some help. Deryn felt relieved. Even though Newkirk knew her secret, he was still treating her exactly how he did before he knew. He didn't seem to be as bothered by a lassie being in the air service as the prince had been. It figured.

Deryn burst into the captain's quarters like she had a bomb about to detonate. Captain Hobbes was nowhere to be seen though. Cursing she turned and went looking for Dr. Barlow, who happened to be the only other person on the ship who she could think of who might be able to help.

When she reached the Doctors room Count Volger was also there. They were talking about something that Deryn didn't find important enough to let continue. "Come quick!" she said reaching for the Boffin. "Someone's kidnapped Alek! We need to hurry and find Hobbes so we can stop the ship and…"

"Calm down Mr. Sharp." Dr. Barlow said pulling her arm away from Deryn and brushing herself off. The Loris on her shoulder clung tighter. "Now please tell us what has happened in a peaceful manner."

Deryn began to pace as the Count looked very interested in what she was saying. "I was up in the Huxley on watch and I saw Alek and a bloke in an airman's uniform talking. They were walking about and then the man just grabs him and jumps off the side of the barking ship! We have to get him before he…"

"You're losing your voice again Mr. Sharp." Volger interrupted, scratching his mustache, but no sarcasm was added. Deryn felt relieved to see the concern in his eye, at least someone was as worried for Alek as she was. With a slight glare she turned to Dr. Barlow "Where's the captain? We have to find him and turn this ship around!"

"Think rationally Mr. Sharp." She said "Whomever has kidnapped Aleksander will not harm him unless they do not get what they want. Impulsively rushing after him with no plan would only get you hurt, which is something I'm afraid _you_ can't afford." She said. "Although it is quite frightening that the prince has been kidnapped, I promise you that he is in no immediate danger."

Deryn grit her teeth "Unless the man was a barking German Clanker!" She watched in awe as she realized that she had rendered the Boffin momentarily speechless. Count Volger cleared his throat, "I agree with Mr. Sharp, we do not know who this man was. If he was a German then the boy is in grave danger."

Dr. Barlow's Perspicacious Loris pretended to stroke its face in a fashion similar to Volger's. Finally Barlow had found something to say, "I understand what you are saying but I can guarantee to you that that man was not a German." She began to pull a piece of paper off of the table that she and Volger were sitting at. She turned to Deryn before she revealed the paper. "Please don't interrupt Mr. Sharp. You're simply overreacting because you're in love and it is quite annoying right now."

Deryn choked on the insults about to leave her mouth. "WHAT?" she coughed.

A smirk crawled across the Counts face as Dr. Barlow sent Deryn an amused stare. "You didn't think I would know?" Deryn made a quick glance at Volger and the Lady Boffin laughed. "I didn't learn this from him, _Mr. _Sharp, in fact I've suspected ever since I had run across you trying to unnecessarily shave, but when the Loris had bonded with both the Prince and _you_ there could be no doubt in my mind."

Deryn stood for a moment shocked that yet another sod on the _Leviathan_ now knew her secret. It seemed that it would only be a matter of time before the entire blasted whale knew! "You're a cleverboots aren't you?" Deryn asked. Dr. Barlow shrugged and then opened the letter that she had been holding. Without another minute to spare she began to read its contents.

* * *

Deryn made her way back to the spine of the _Leviathan, _Bovril in tow, wishing that she could comprehend what went through the Boffin's attic. So she had found a ransom letter at Alek's door and it was of course demanding money, or they would never see the likes of the Archduke again. Barlow's plan was to collect the money required and meet the culprits at a certain destination. The Count had even agreed, after much consideration, that the Doctor's idea was best.

Deryn was furious. She had told Dr. Barlow to get stuffed and the Boffin had only threatened her with revealing her secret to the captain. But Deryn didn't care anymore. As long as Alek was safe then the whole barking ship could know all of that yackum!

She had told Dr. Barlow that she wouldn't do anything spontaneous and would let the "professionals" deal with the situation at hand but Deryn wasn't going to just sit back and watch as the future Archduke of Austria-Hungary was kidnapped and held captive. No, his captor's wouldn't be getting any money from the members on the _Leviathan_. All that those clart filled bum-rags would be getting was a barking mouthful of Deryn's fists.

She found Newkirk at the engines trying to tell Master Klopp what had happened to Alek. The poor Clanker couldn't understand though and so would have to be informed by Count Volger later. Deryn took Newkirk away and then started to the spine with the boy in tow. "Toss me your airgun." She demanded. Mr. Newkirk gave her his without question and then handed her the rope looped around his arm as well. "I take it no one will listen to you." He said, grinning.

Deryn glared at him for finding humor in such a dire situation as this, and then nodded. "Aye, they told me not to do anything impulsive! Like I'm ever impulsive!" Bovril,still clinging to Deryn's shoulder climbed up onto her head and giggled.

"Oh, I know." Newkirk agreed sarcastically, Deryn rolled her eyes. "So what is your plan Dylan Sharp?"

"Of course I'm going after him!" she cried. "And Mr. Newkirk, I need your help."

He nodded and followed her over to the Huxley Deryn had just recently been in. She motioned to the tether, "Do you have your knife with you?"

Newkirk nodded and then held it up for her to see. She beamed. "Good, now when I'm up in the air, I want you to cut this tether here so that I can direct the Huxley back towards where Alek was. Do you understand?"

He frowned. "I understand but Huxley's aren't supposed to …"

Deryn almost laughed at the Monkey Luddite. "I've done it before! Don't you remember how I got on this barking ship in the first place?"

Newkirk nodded, clearly uncomfortable as Bovril giggled again. Deryn climbed into the pilots rig and motioned to him. "I'm ready."

"Aye," he said and then began to raise Deryn and the Huxley into the night sky.

The Huxley climbed higher and higher into the sky. Bovril climbed under Deryn's chin, trying to get closer. "Don't worry beastie." She said soothingly "We'll find him, and when we do, he'll wish he'd never met me."


	6. Chapter 6 Gold

_This is a weird chapter. The ending is very random but it'll make sense in the next chapter (I hope.) =]_

Mr. Woods knocked at the small little houses door with an odd sort of pattern that must have been the key to enter. "Won't be long now." He smiled cheerily down at Alek. Alek glared and tried to struggle against the cuffs at his wrist once again.

At first, Alek had believed that Mr. Woods had gone mad, he had heard that the service could do that to a man, it wasn't hard to believe that that had been what had happened. He couldn't have thought of any other rational reason for jumping off of a ship at such ungodly heights with someone he had just merely met. He had to be 'cracked in the attic'.

It hadn't been until after the man had pulled the string for the parachute that Alek had begun to think that he might have some kind of plan, and whatever it was, it wouldn't be good.

When they had landed Alek had tried to escape but he hadn't known his surroundings very well and had gotten recaptured by Mr. Woods quickly. He had explained to Alek that he had wanted him to cooperate so that it wouldn't have to force him to do anything, since Alek had tried to run though, he had gotten the cuffs.

A man with long light brown hair tied behind his head in a ponytail opened the door and seemed to size up Alek and Mr. Woods. After a few seconds of scrutiny he nodded to Mr. Woods and then Alek was shoved into a dark room with barely any furniture. There was a small couch at one wall and a table in front that had a radio sitting on it. To the side of the couch was a side table that only held a single lamp that was turned off.

Mr. Woods led Alek to the small couch and made him sit. The other man went to the window and brushed away the curtains peering out into the dark. "Any sign of pursuit?" he asked.

Mr. Woods shook his head and then spoke up. "No sir, but that doesn't mean that no one will come."

Alek spoke the first words he had said since he had tried to run earlier, "They will come for me." he said confidently, although he wasn't as sure of this as he had let on. "When they do, you'll be sorry."

Mr. Woods rolled his eyes and then headed to another room that connected to the living room. "I'm famished! Would anyone like something to eat? An apple perhaps Your Highness?"

At the mention of food Alek's stomach rumbled. He hadn't eaten since breakfast early that morning and felt extremely hungry. He couldn't take food from these men though, he couldn't trust them.

"Of course someone is coming." said the long haired English man. "that's what we are hoping for. You are worth quite a lot Aleksander, if the Leviathan wants to keep you as a secret hostage, then they will come with what we asked them for."

Alek scoffed "You aren't a very threatening duo, what makes you think they'll come with what you want."

He smiled evilly. "What other choice do they have?" he pulled a gun his pants pocket and touched it against Alek's cheek. Alek cringed away from the cold metal against his face as the man continued. "They don't know what we may do to you if they don't carry through with the bargain. It's a simple order really, we want nothing to do with you and your aristocratic politics, we just want the money." He sat and thought for a moment and then said "If they don't bring the gold, we'll just simply kill them and turn you in to Churchill. The reward won't be as great, but money is money, I'm afraid."

Alek's eyes widened as he looked at the man. He didn't know who would come to get him, or even if someone would come to find him, but if his rescuer didn't come prepared with a weapon better than a riggers knife, he didn't think that the person had very good chances of survival.

"See," Mr. Woods said, rejoining them and sitting next to Alek on the couch. "We don't intend to hurt you, were just dry on cash and feel that you have more than enough to share."

Alek could have laughed if he wasn't so scared about the lack of gold the men would receive if help would arrive. He didn't think that they would believe him if he told them he had tossed all of the gold out of a window in Switzerland. Alek's father had once told him that greed was a root of evil in all men, it would make them do unimaginable things. He didn't doubt that now. "What makes you think that I have gold?" he asked

Mr. Woods looked over at the man who sighed. "Prince Aleksander," the man said, "your father was the Archduke of Austria Este. He and Sophie loved you very much." He gave Alek a stern look and then continued "I highly doubt that the two did not leave you a bloody heaping pile of inheritance."

Alek tried to bluff. "I'm of no importance. I can't even take the position of archduke! The only inheritance my parents left me was only of personal value." Alek felt his eyes begin to water but promised that he wouldn't cry. He hated to think that he didn't even have anything from his mother or father. Everything had happened so suddenly since their death that Alek couldn't have even tried to take something as a reminder of who they were. All he had had left of his family was that bunch of gold (gone now), the storm walker (ruined), Count Volger, and Klopp.

The man sat silently for what seemed like forever. Alek's wrist was beginning to hurt from the places the cuffs were digging into. He wished he hadn't tried to find Mr. Woods that day. Perhaps then he would still be on the _Leviathan_ and his only worries would have been about Deryn Sharp.

"Well," Mr. Woods said taking a big bite of apple. "Anything that was owned by Franz Ferdinand would have some kind of monetary value, yes? If not, who knows what Churchill will do with you, eh Mr. Floyd?"

Mr. Floyd nodded. "But we don't have to worry about this anyways, son, we know that your parent's left a large amount of gold behind."

Alek swallowed, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince these two. "Well, if you mean me no harm, could you get these cuffs off me?" he asked.

Mr. Floyd sighed and then nodded to Mr. Woods. "Stand up," Mr. Woods ordered and Alek did as he said.

As Alek stood, Mr. Floyd left the room muttering about how he needed a good book to read until they came. Alek didn't understand how anyone on the _Leviathan _would know where he was being held captive but the two men seemed to be positive that the crewmembers would know. Alek turned away from the couch and Mr. Woods stood behind him. He looked at the door and noticed that it was unlocked, if he could just open it and be out the door quick enough, he could escape into the woods he had seen surrounding the house and think of a better escape plan later.

"Oh where is that blasted key!" Mr. Woods cried searching his pockets. "Ahh, here. It was in my back pocket!" he chuckled.

Alek waited for the hand cuffs to come off of his aching wrist before he turned around and pushed Mr. Woods down onto the floor. He knew the man wouldn't stay down for long, he was quite strong, but it gave Alek at least a slight advantage. He took off for the door then.

"Get him!" Mr. Woods yelled. Alek made the mistake of looking behind him as he laid his hand on the doorknob. Mr. Floyd dropped the book that he had brought from another room in the house and was looking at Alek, smirking. Alek didn't wait to see what the man would say, he opened the door and rushed out.

Alek could hear Mr. Floyd running behind him and tried to pick up speed, but it wasn't easy when there were tree roots and weeds constantly in the way. "Your Highness," Mr. Floyd yelled "you don't know where you're going!" Alek looked back to see how close the man was and then fell over a log that he hadn't seen. His head hit something hard, his vision began to blur. Mr. Floyd slowly walked over to Alek making a tsk tsk sound. "Poor Prince." He said, then things began to go black.

* * *

A few hours later Alek was back on the airship, being lectured by an angry Count Volger. "I am very disappointed in you Aleksander." He said, eyes narrowed.

Alek looked down at his hands in shame. "I know." he said "I didn't mean to."

"There is no way you can help in this war now!" he continued, "We'll be lucky if we can even convince the pope of your right to the throne." Alek felt his face warm as Volger stared daggers at him. "I'll fix this, Count." He said desperately. "We can convince him."

"It doesn't matter Alek, you aren't important anymore. No one will listen to you since you lost the only scroll that could make you the Archduke of Austria!" Alek shook his head and looked away from the count. How could he have done something so…

Suddenly a pretty girl with long sandy blonde hair barged into the room with a saber in her hands. There was a little squirrel-like creature sitting at her shoulder, it looked at Alek and giggled. "Alek! Give me the gold or I'll give you to Churchill!" the girl took another step closer to Alek and he thought that it was odd that she was wearing a dress. Her hair though, was very pretty in a wild untamed sort of way. He had never seen girls back in Austria wear their hair this way. They all had only worn their hair in tight buns.

Distracted by her odd hair, he didn't realize the deathly look in the girls blue eyes until her saber was pointed directly at the young prince's chest. "Give me the bloody gold boy!" she said angrily

"Gods wounds!" Alek cried "What are you doing Deryn?" then he opened his eyes to see her inches away, looking very worried.


	7. Chapter 7 Escape

_We're way more than halfway done (yay! Or boo! whichever you are feeling…) and I have to say that its kinda sad how far I've gotten with this. _

_If Goliath would just come out sooner I wouldn't be so sad though. =/ Goshdangit! Scott Westerfeld so owns this!_

"Can you imagine how much gold they'll bring Floyd?" a man asked

Deryn sat silently under a broken window, expertly eavesdropping and readying the air gun for the next moments to come. She hadn't been sure of the address at first; the little cabin was practically out in the middle of nowhere and the note that the men had left hadn't been too specific on the area. Now, although the blinds were shut, and Deryn couldn't see into the house, she was positive that this was where they were keeping the prince.

"He's a Hapsburg." Another man, Floyd, said. "We'll get plenty."

Deryn held her breath for a second, trying to get her heart rate back to a normal. She didn't know how dangerous these men could be, but she knew that Alek was in there, and she needed to get him out. Bovril, sitting against the house beside her, began to make sounds similar to snoring. Deryn held a finger to her lips frantically shushing the Loris, he giggled.

"Did you hear something?" Floyd asked.

"Just the wind." The other man guessed. Deryn tried to peer through the broken window again, but it proved to be difficult with the blinds covering her view. She quickly turned away from the window and grabbed a small log she had picked up earlier from their firewood pile. "No," said Floyd. "I believe that we have a…" Deryn didn't wait to hear what he said, she had known that the door had been locked when she'd come, and she didn't plan on spending very much time in the creepy woods. Breaking in through the window would be much easier than knocking on the door and having to act like she had something to give them. She only wished that she had had a better weapon on hand, like those spices she'd thrown in Istanbol.

Deryn jumped through the window and landed gracefully on her feet. There were two men waiting for her. She recognized the one who had kidnapped Alek right away, his eyes were wide as he smiled and pointed at her. "I told you they'd send the Middie!" he said "Connected at the hip, these two are."

Deryn looked at the two men and held up the air gun. Alek was tied to a chair beside the little couch, asleep. It looked as if he had been knocked a good one on the head. She scowled, "Don't do anything daft or you'll regret it!" she threatened, pointing the gun from one man to the other. They both placed their hands into the air. Then the man who had his hair tied slowly pulled a gun of his own out, he pointed it inches from Alek.

"Give us the gold and your friend here may be spared." He retorted. Deryn held her breath but didn't move. "There is no gold." She said cautiously, "Aleksander Ferdinand is barking broke!" she pointed the gun at him instead.

"What a pity, eh Mr. Woods?" the man said, sounding amused.

"Quite." Said the man Deryn had recognized. She didn't pay much attention to him though, clearly this other man was the brains behind this plan. "Seems that we'll just have to get rid of the midshipman and then give the prince to Churchill." Mr. Woods continued.

Deryn faked a laugh. "A lot of good that'll do! Captain Hobbes has already told him that we've got the young Archduke of Austria Este. If you two give him the prince, instead of the crew on the _Leviathan, _imagine what the man would do to you!" she could tell that her statement struck some fear in Mr. Woods, but the other man, Mr. Floyd, didn't seem to be fazed.

"I think he would appreciate the gift no matter who the bearer was." He said thoughtfully.

"He's not an object to trade!" Deryn burst. Mr. Floyd raised an eyebrow. Her grip on the weapon tightened. "You have three seconds to back away from the prince and leave the premises or I'll shoot!" she readied her finger at the trigger. "Three, two…One!" The man began to move quickly towards her "Give me that bloody gun boy!" he yelled, closing in on her. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but it seemed to be the only way to save herself and Alek…

A loud bang escaped from the air gun as Deryn pulled the trigger. As this happened, Mr. Woods, who had left her notice, came from behind her and tackled her to the ground. "Aghhh!" Floyd yelled. Deryn quickly glanced at the man holding a spot near his shoulder. He had dropped his own gun and was backing away in pain. A moan came from Alek's mouth as Bovril ran into the small room, big eyes looking frantically for Deryn.

"Beastie!" she yelled as she tried to fight the man off of her. "Chew through the ropes on Alek!" she hoped that Bovril could understand her urgency, he seemed to always understand other less vital arrangements.

She couldn't see if the Loris understood or not because Mr. Woods was still fighting with Deryn. She threw a punch at the man and hit him square in the nose, and then she brought her knees to his chest as hard as he could. Woods sat back, momentarily breathless by the blow, he regained his composure quickly though and started at Deryn again.

Mr. Floyd seemed to have also gained back his composure and was feet away from Alek. He still held his shoulder but had found the gun once again. "No!" she screamed. She took the butt of the gun and used it as a club against Mr. Woods's head. She hadn't realized how hard she had hit him until the man fell over in front of her.

Bovril had just finished gnawing through the ropes at Alek's hands and had then attacked Mr. Floyd. Deryn stumbled to her feet as Bovril bit at the man's ankles and legs. "Bloody monster!" he yelled trying to flick the Perspicacious Loris off of his lower limbs. Deryn moved in between the man and the prince and then knocked the gun out of his hands. He looked up at her in shock as she once again pointed the air gun at him. "One move, and you are dead!" she said. Bovril climbed onto her shoulder and growled. Mr. Floyd held up his hands in defeat, "Easy, easy. I only wanted some money. No need be…"

Deryn couldn't listen to him, but she couldn't find it in her to shoot either. If she had ever killed someone she didn't think she'd be able to live with herself. Instead she took a step toward him and quickly knocked him on the head as she had for Mr. Woods. "If you ever mess with this Middie's best friend again, I will show no mercy you bum rag!" she said, then she turned to Alek and began to cut the rope with her riggers knife.

She was just about to cut the rope around his chest when Alek seemed to become fully conscious. She smiled up at him but couldn't hide the worry in her eyes. "About time you ninny." She said quietly, so not to wake the two lifeless men. It seemed to take some time for Alek to process anything. His sad green eyes stared back at her blankly. At last he reached out to examine her hair. "It's…it's the same color." He muttered.

Deryn wasn't sure what to think. Of course a tingle was going through her from the proximity of the two, and she was more than happy that he was okay, but her hair was the same color it'd always been! It wouldn't change in one day! She decided to smile and just go along with it. "Aye, it is." She said, then she noticed a big knot at the top of his head and bit her lip worried. "Alek! That bump must have messed you up in the attic!" she cut the rest of the rope away and then pulled him to his feet. He seemed wobbly at first but quickly gained his balance. "Come on." She said, "We have to get away from here."

She then led him out of the tiny house in the woods towards the area that she had tied the Huxley to. Hopefully the beastie would still be there, or she wouldn't know how to get anywhere near the _Leviathan_, or Japan for that matter.

* * *

Deryn made Alek run until she was positive that they were too far away from the little house to be tracked, at least not until they were up in the sky. Both were quiet as they ran through the forest. Thankfully, Deryn had examined the path when she had been going through the first time, and knew exactly where she was going. When they approached the Huxley they came to stop, Alek panting heavily, he bent down, hands on his knees gasping for breath.

"Blisters, Your Princeliness!" Deryn tried to joke "You would think that your tutors would have made you do more physical activity rather than have you stand in a pose for an hour to eradicate bad posture."

Alek didn't laugh as he continued to try to catch his breath. Deryn looked back at the Huxley, wishing that she had thought through exactly how the both of them would ride on it. She took a step closer and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right?" she asked.

Alek's eyes met hers and after a quick moment he nodded. "Yes." He took his hands away from his knees and stood up straight.

"Good!" Deryn said crossing her arms over her chest. "You daft dummkopf! Why didn't you tell me what those signs meant? You were safe on the _Leviathan_ and you threw it all away just because of idiotic curiosity?" she smacked him on the shoulder as he watched in shock. "You bum rag! You could have gotten hurt!" she began to untie the Huxley from a tree she had tethered it to. "What would they have done when they found out that you lost all of the bloody gold? It would take too long to get to Churchill, they would get annoyed and…"

"Uhh… Not meaning to interrupt your intriguing lecture, but is this safe?" Alek asked, pointing at the Huxley which was all set and ready to go. Deryn looked at Alek, and then to the pilots rig and then raised an eyebrow. She chuckled. "No, not really. In fact, it's downright mad." She smiled over to him, her anger disappearing. "Now get in, you're _Highness_."

Alek stood still, looking very uncomfortable in front of the air beast. "Uhm…" he started.

"What?" Deryn began, and then it suddenly dawned on her. The Clanker was scared of the Huxley! She tried to suppress her smile, sometimes she forgot that Alek was raised differently even when they acted worlds apart. "Oh no need to worry Alek," she smirked. "I'm the best airman aboard the _Leviathan_, you'll be perfectly safe."

"You are very arrogant." Alek said as Deryn motioned for him to sit at the pilots rig, he smiled.

She averted her eyes away from his and started to cut the last remains of the rope with her knife. Alek touched her arm and she stopped. "Deryn?"

She turned to face him and gasped when she saw that he hadn't sat down, as she had ordered, and was only inches away from her. "Yes?" she squeaked.

"I'm glad it was you who came to find me…" he smiled.

"Aye, well, you know, no one else could have…"Deryn couldn't finish her sentence because at that very moment the young Archduke had pulled her to him and had pressed his lips to hers. It was the very thing that she had been wishing would happen ever since that day he'd briefly put his arm around her. Her heart melted as Alek ran his fingers through her hair, she'd never felt anything like it, and then…

_Haha, Authors note at the end! (that's new) Anyways, I realized that I didn't completely explain Aleks dream in this chapter, so I'll just say that it was when he was still asleep but waking up, so the things people around him were saying was definitely leaking into his subconcious. Alek was dreaming about Volger being disappointed in him because no one likes when you let someone down, and I guess he feels that way. =[  
Thanks to everyone who comments, it just brightens my day up so much! Even if you're critiquing my writing... I actually like to learn what I'm doing wrong so no harm done if you tell me that my grammar sucks or whatever. You guys are awesome!_


	8. Chapter 8 Storm

_I don't know how much sense this chapter may make, but I kind of had fun writing it, when I had time to write it. It seems to have taken forever to get this one done!_

_chapter eight:_

"Barking spiders!" Deryn cried. She broke away from the prince and looked at the Huxley. "We don't want to spook the beastie before we even leave the ground now do we?"

Alek leaned closer to see Deryn's face. She was blushing, her cheeks a light pink. He wondered why she was embarrassed, should he have kissed her? She wouldn't look at him as she cut the rest of rope that kept the Huxley floating close to the ground. "The beast seems fine to me." he said.

Deryn held the rope in her hand and turned. "Aye. Just get in the seat." She said still pink in the face. Bovril scuttled over to Alek and quickly climbed up onto his shoulder, the Loris kept making imitations of the rustling leaves and other forest sounds surrounding them, he seemed to be intrigued by them.

Alek gulped before strapping himself into the pilots rig. Despite her assurance that it would be safe, he found it hard to believe her. He trusted Deryn with most things; it was the Darwinist flying contraption which he didn't trust. Alek had been around Darwinist long enough to know that there was never more than one rider on the air beast at a time. He knew that it wasn't just a precaution, it was dangerous.

"As long as the wind stays steady and keeps blowing this way we should make it to Japan in no time." Deryn climbed up onto the seat as the Huxley began to ascend. She didn't sit but instead balanced her feet on one of the sides as she clung to the rigging from the beast. Dread filled Alek's chest as he wondered what the weight of him and his friend would do to the Huxley, he was almost positive that the extra weight would strain the hydrogen breather. "Lucky I'm light on my toes." Deryn leered, as if reading his mind.

Alek feebly nodded at her. His grip tightened as they rose higher into the air. He looked up at Deryn who had her hand across her forehead to block the sun. She seemed as if she was perfectly comfortable with the heights they were climbing. Alek was worried more for her safety than his own but she didn't even seem to think that she was in danger. "Are you just going to stand like that until we get to Japan?" he asked "You may fall or…"

Deryn looked down at him with a laugh, the awkwardness of the past moment forgotten. "Alek, I have more air sense than anyone! No need to worry. It takes more to spook a Medusa from the _Leviathan _than it does any regular one. We have almost no worries!"

"_Almost," _Bovril repeated. Alek raised an eyebrow, "Deryn?" he began. Once again she looked down at him awaiting his question. He swallowed, collecting his thoughts. "You just admitted that the Huxley doesn't spook easily. Therefore my kissing you wouldn't have bothered it. Why did you…" Alek grasped for words but they wouldn't come to him, his loss of words didn't seem to matter though, Deryn understood. "I was caught off guard is all," she began. "We were running for our lives and then…"

Alek shook his head and forced himself not to look down; he began to pet Bovril as the Loris crawled into his lap. "It's okay if you don't like me, you know." He watched a few birds flying by. Deryn shifted uncomfortably on the edges of the seat, "W-what do you mean?" she asked.

"Well," said Alek, he held his chin up, wishing that the girl were sitting so he wouldn't have to look so high. "It would make sense…you seemed to take a liking to Lilit when we were in Istanbul. If you like women then…" Alek was suddenly interrupted by Deryn bursting into laughter. She leaned against the ropes and dramatically dried her eyes. Alek reached out his hand, ready to grab at her if she fell, but her balance was restored as quickly as it had left. "Are you blind you _ninny_?" she was still laughing as she continued. "I tried to avoid Lilit! That lass was cracked in the attic!"

Alek pursed his lips as a memory came to him of the last time they had seen Lilit. "Then why did you let her kiss you?" his face contorted in confusion, "You misled her, she thought that you were a Midshipman!"

"I am a Midshipman Alek!" she said sternly. "And I was acting like a barking boy! How could I have known that she would do that?" Deryn was quiet for a moment and then said "I think that Lilit knew that I'm a girl, yet she still kissed me. It only proves even more that she's a crazy anarchist. Still, I never wanted to kiss her."

Alek hated this new feeling of insecurity that was settling over him. Hours ago he had still been slightly angry at Deryn Sharp for lying to him. When he had woken up though, after that strange dream, he had realized that Deryn was one of the only people he had trusted since the night he'd been taken away from his home. He also couldn't deny the realization that she was quite pretty. He hadn't notices before, but now it was impossible not to. With this new awareness his feelings slowly began to creep up on him as well. He didn't know if Deryn only wanted to stay friends, but he knew that he certainly didn't want to, he now wanted something more.

Alek was about to comment on how, even though she claimed to have not wanted to kiss the girl, she didn't pull away when it had happened either, but the clouds ahead caught his attention. "That can't be good," he thought aloud. Deryn followed his gaze and groaned.

"Blisters!" she swore, "Of all the bloody rotten luck! This happened to me the last time I traveled by Huxley you know." Alek nodded, he knew. Dylan liked to tell the story quite a lot.

"What are we going to do?" Alek asked. Deryn shifted and then swiftly shrugged. She watched the storm clouds in the distance with a mild look of distaste on her face. "Not much we very well can do but wait it out." She looked over to him, smiling nervously. "It's not so bad." She said "We'll be in Japan in a squick, and then we'll find the _Leviathan_ and will be back on track."

* * *

Alek didn't know how much time had passed since they had spotted the storm, but he was grateful that the only thing the gale was spitting out was rain. Every once in a while Alek would glance up at Deryn and would see a deep look of concentration mixed with worry. She would deny her fears whenever he asked, but he knew that flying in a Huxley during a storm could be deathly. In fact, he believed that Deryn wouldn't have so much pride in her story of how she had come on the _Leviathan_ if it hadn't had a touch of danger.

When the thunder began to crash in the distance the Perspicacious Loris climbed onto his shoulder and clung tightly. As Bovril shivered from the rumbles Alek reached up and petted him soothingly. "Bovril doesn't like storms," he mentioned. Alek didn't blame the poor little creature. With the rain pouring down on them and the thunder and lightning beginning to clash around them, he wasn't too fond of the weather either. "Barking spiders!" Bovril said in response.

Alek smiled. "Why exactly did you bring Bovril along anyways?" he asked. At first it hadn't seemed to matter to him, Bovril followed the two everywhere anyways, it was quite normal to have him on this trip. It must have been hard for Deryn to keep track of the Loris while she plotted to save the unconscious prince.

Deryn briefly stopped examining the skies ahead to reply. Alek was glad to see that she was coming around. She had been unusually quiet in the time that had passed and he was beginning to suspect that the storm was reminding her of when they were on the _Leviathan_ and the Tesla Cannon had been fired. He knew that saving Newkirk that day had brought back painful memories about her father, he wondered if the lightning was reminding her once again of those things. "The barking Boffin, that's why!" she said with a grin. "I didn't tell you what happened on the ship while you were gone, did I?"

"Of course not." He swiped away a wet strand of hair from his forehead.

"Aye, well then…" She looked pensive as she tried to figure how to word her sentences. "Volger and Barlow were being blistering bum-rags and were talking a whole lot of yackum; they wanted to collect the ransom and then come retrieve you in a _civilized_ manner. I tried to convince them that we owed those sods nothing and they wouldn't listen. Dr. Barlow even went as far as telling me to stay put! She told me that instead of running off and getting myself into trouble that I should stay and keep the Loris company." Deryn wrapped her arm around the rope and then crossed her arms, half laughing. "Well, I certainly kept my word. The beastie hasn't been lonely yet. I came out of the Boffin's chamber and met up with Mr. Newkirk. _He_ knew that I wouldn't just sit around and wait until their plan pulled through. I wouldn't let you get away so easily, you're too barking important! Newkirk gave me the air gun and the extra rope and then I set off to find you, your Princeliness." She beamed down at him, her story apparently finished. She seemed quite proud of her story, as she always was.

"I'm important…" Alek quietly repeated, looking away from Deryn. "How so?"

Alek could only imagine her rolling her eyes as he heard the sarcasm in her voice. "You're the future Archduke of Austria Este! That's bloody important wouldn't you think?" she was silent a moment and then continued, quieter than before. "Plus, you…you're important to me as well."

Alek turned to stare at her in shock, which was slightly difficult in the uncomfortable pilots seat. The Huxley swayed a moment at the shift in weight, but somehow, Deryn easily corrected it. When he saw her face, she was blushing again. "Really? I am?" he asked.

"Well of course you are dummkopf!" She watched as lightning struck a few miles off. Alek didn't like the looks of it, he knew from what he had learned on the_ Leviathan _that lightning was not a good thing for anyone, but it was especially dangerous for the fabricated hydrogen creatures."Sometimes you're very daft." She finally finished.

His gaze drifted to the dark clouds surrounding them as he grinned. He felt a little bit better about himself. Deryn still hadn't admitted if she felt the same way about him, but she had told him that he was important to her, which he guessed was good enough.

As he watched, some of the dark clouds a little below them seemed to be expanding. Alek wasn't sure what to think of it, his tutors had taught him about weather before; he could name any kind of cloud and normally could tell whether the day would be downcast or sunny, but this he had never seen before. It began to grow until he suddenly realized it wasn't a cloud at all.

"Deryn!" he cried, wishing he could stand. He pointed at the mass excitedly. "Look! It's the _Leviathan!_ Do you think they came to get us?"

"Of course they did!" she exclaimed. " Someone must have contacted Captain Hobbes and put some sense into him!" she began to release the ballast, the Huxley slowly descended, closer to the giant whale. Deryn began to call out, at last it seemed that someone had heard her and pointed.

The Huxley was getting closer to the airship with every second, but there was still no way to land on the _Leviathan_. To do that, they would have to find a way to steer it in one direction, and the wind wouldn't allow them to do such a thing.

Soon enough the whale closed in on the Huxley and some crewmembers threw a long rope out for them to grab a hold of. Deryn nudged him with her knee and met his eyes, "You and the beastie first, you have less an idea what you're doing than I do."

Alek wanted to protest but couldn't fight her logic. He knew that she had a way with the fabrications, if anything, Deryn would be safer with the Huxley then Alek would. He reached for the rope and began to climb as the men pulled him up. Bovril dug his little claws into Alek's shoulders; he winced against the small pain and continued to climb.

When he reached the deck he was welcomed warmly by the men there. Newkirk clapped him enthusiastically on the back. "Good to see you again, Alek!" he said. Alek smiled and faintly nodded. He was used to the friendliness from Newkirk, but the rest of the crew normally treated him as he technically was, a prisoner of war. He hadn't expected them to have missed him.

They threw the rope out once more to retrieve Deryn. She looked up at the Huxley and said something that looked like a "sorry beastie", and then she eagerly reached for the rope.

Suddenly another strike of lightning shot through the sky. This one was closer than the last and set the hairs on Alek's arms and neck on ends. The hydrogen breather hadn't been spooked the entire trip that they had made, but at this it began to drop quickly. Alek leaned over the _Leviathan's_ edge and watched in terror as the scene began to unfold.


	9. Chapter 9 Injuries

_So, seriously Newkirk is a really cool character. I hope he gets more time in Goliath. Bovril is so adorable as well, he needs his own series! Hehe._

Deryn had barely reached for the rope when she heard the loud crack of lightning emanating from the sky. Her feet were still at the pilot's rig of the Medusa when it began to drastically dip away from her. She gave out a startled cry and slipped a few feet down.

"Get him!" someone from aboard the ship yelled and the crew then quickly fell into action. She tightened her grip on the rope as a member began to wrap something rapidly around his waist. Deryn grit her teeth in pain, tears began to leak from her eyes as she realized how far down the earth was. Ever since she was little she had never had a problem with falling, it was always the barking landing that did her in. She was scared that her last moments were almost up, and she had so much left to do.

She scolded herself for crying while she looked up once again at the ship. The man rappelling down to her across the side of the ship looked oddly familiar. It took her a moment, until he was closer to realize that it was Mr. Newkirk. "Hold on Dylan!" he said.

She tried to do as the other midshipman said, but the rope was getting damper by the second and was becoming excessively slippery. He was almost an arm's length away from Deryn when she knew that she couldn't hold on any longer. She looked down in fear, and then glanced up at the middie who briefly met her eye and then thrust out his hand as Deryn lost her grip completely on the rope.

Their hands clasped and Deryn stopped her descent with a jerk. A pain shot sharply through her shoulder but she beamed brightly up at him. "Mr. Newkirk!" she exclaimed "I didn't know you had it in you!"

Newkirk glimpsed at her as he helped her up. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and pushed against the ship to get them moving again. After a few seconds of confusion Newkirk chuckled at her sarcasm during such a dire situation, and started climbing back up the ship. The crew members also began to help reel them in. When they both reached the deck Deryn jumped off of Newkirk in a hurry and leaped for solid ground.

She had never thought she'd be so glad to see the _Leviathan_ again, but as she stood, surrounded by all of the men she had come to know, she couldn't have been happier, especially when she was wrapped into a tight hug by Alek.

"Dylan!" he exclaimed. She swiftly wrapped hugged him back, and then pulled away. She had to remind herself that she was acting as a boy again.

"You did well Newkirk!" Alek was ecstatic. Newkirk raised his hand for a high five, after a slight moment, the prince understood and slapped him back.

"Hello Mr. Sharp," a female voice said from behind. Deryn turned around to see Dr. Barlow looking down at her with a mixture of interest and irritation. Bovril who had seemed to have disappeared until then, seemed to make a type of squealing sound and ran towards the Boffin who had her Loris tagging behind along with Tazza. The two Loris's met and began to giggle and repeat new phrases they had heard. Deryn turned to Barlow with a look of regret. She didn't want to be lectured on how she had disobeyed the Doctor's rules, but she had a feeling that her harsh words would not be avoidable.

Dr. Barlow's look of anger subsided though as she noticed Deryn holding her shoulder in the place that Newkirk had pulled. She hadn't complained when she'd come aboard the ship because she felt grateful that it was only her shoulder and not something more important that she had injured. The truth, though, was that the pain was coming back, and it barking_ hurt! _

"Oh, we should fix that." She said thoughtfully. "Come with me_._ I'm not really _that _kind of doctor, but dislocations are very simple. In fact, Tazza dislocated her shoulder once too, I patched her up quite expertly, if I do say so myself. Also, I need to talk to you in private and this is the perfect way to do so…Alek, please don't follow us, I'll send a messenger lizard when I wish to talk to you. Now excuse me, but we need to get Dylan's arm in better shape."

Deryn followed slowly with dread as Dr. Barlow casually started towards her cabin. Alek raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged giving him a look that told him she never understood what the Boffin was really up to. He sent her an encouraging smile then, that she took with gratitude and continued to the doctors room.

* * *

"This will only hurt a bit…" Dr. Barlow assured as she prepared to pop Deryn's shoulder back into place.

Deryn had dislocated joints before, back when her Da had still been around, and she knew what Barlow had really meant, it never hurt 'only a bit'.

The Boffin gingerly touched Deryn's arm while Deryn closed her eyes and waited. When the Doctor finally popped her arm back into place she bit down on her tongue, refusing to let any show of weakness escape. "I'm sorry!" she then blurted. Dr. Barlow hadn't mentioned her defiance once since they had been in the cabin. Deryn was beginning to suspect the pain Barlow was causing her was a sort of torture, a way of revenge for not listening. Deryn opened her eyes to see the Boffin staring at her with the same expression of interest splayed across her face as before .

"What exactly are you apologizing for?" she said adjusting her bowler hat.

"I wouldn't listen to you!" Deryn exclaimed, she felt as if she were stating the obvious. "But I had to go after him!" she was out of breath, the pain in her shoulder was forgotten in her urgency to defend herself.

Dr. Barlow dusted off her skirt in nonchalance. "Of course you did. Haven't you heard of reverse psychology?"

Deryn looked wide eyed at the Lady Boffin. She had expected for an accusation, she knew she deserved it, but she wouldn't have let Barlow know that. Deryn had had the whole argument running through her mind and certainly hadn't expected for her to agree. "What?" she asked, baffled.

"Well," Dr. Barlow sat down at the table in the seat across from Deryn. She rested her head against her elbow and leaned over the top. "I knew that if I came up with a logical plan that would require fast action, we would risk losing any number of valuable items from the ship for the ransom. I also knew that you wouldn't be calm until the Prince was found, so I decided that the best thing to do was send you to get the boy. If any member among this could rescue Aleksander without actually giving those men the reward they had asked for, it would be the 'Midshipman' infatuated with him. I had no doubts. I knew that you would succeed.

"I could have barking died!" Deryn motioned with her good hand at her arm.

Dr. Barlow's eyes narrowed. "You didn't though, did you? You're still in one piece, yes?"

Deryn grit her teeth. She realized that no amount of time would make Dr. Barlow become any less annoying. Just because she wasn't stuck on egg duty any longer didn't mean that the doctor wasn't any less a bother, she would still find ways to get under Deryn's skin, no matter what. With a sigh Deryn nodded. "Aye, but barely."

Dr. Barlow shrugged and looked dejectedly at the clock. "I have a meeting soon with Captain Hobbes," she explained "It seems the longer I'm aboard this ship, the more I dislike that man…" she held her fingers to her forehead and sighed. "Before I dismiss you though, I must discuss one last point: your secret, _Miss _Sharp."

Deryn swallowed, prepared for the worst. Barlow continued. "As of now, I have no reason for you to be discovered. In fact, I've taken a liking to you in these past few months, and would see it as a tragedy if you were to leave. Therefore, I don't plan to tell your secret to any member of this ship, although I do know that _Volger_ discovered your secret some time ago, you will be safe as long as you don't blurt it out to the public. When we reach Japan though, which the arrival time has been delayed because of your little adventure, you may find that things will be more…difficult." The Boffin then became silent. Deryn wondered what she meant by 'more difficult', but Barlow wouldn't elaborate. She stood up and reached for a tube that had been a bag she was carrying, then she handed it to Deryn. "Apply this to the burns, it'll help." Deryn looked down and for the first time noticed that she had two distinct rope burns running on either hand from when the Huxley had taken its dip. Her hand's hadn't hurt before, but with the realization came the heat a burn always entails.

"During my meeting I'm going to inform the Captain that you should have the next few days off." She stood up and headed for the door. "For your arm to properly heal it's best not to stress it too much, Miss Sharp. Keep ice on it and don't try to help around the ship when you have a perfectly good excuse to be lazy. If you listen to me this time, then your arm will be in top shape within no time."

Deryn began to protest. What good was being on the _Leviathan_ if she had to sit around in her room all day? It was something that they had forced Alek to do at one point. A stern look from the Boffin though stopped her, protesting wouldn't get her any squick closer to getting her post back anyways.

Dr. Barlow opened the door for Deryn and then followed her out into the hallway. "One last thing," she turned around to meet Deryn's eye. "You should put ice on your shoulder right away to take down the swelling…"

"Aye Mam." Deryn sighed.

Barlow smiled then. "Good, now if you'll excuse me, I have to go."


	10. Chapter 10 Japan

_Okay, this is the last chapter of this little story. If you haven't realized it's kind of a story that's before Goliath, but after Behemoth. If I continued this it'd be kind of like writing Goliath, which I have no idea how I would do it. This will probably be the cheesiest chapter you guys will read because I am never good at writing endings (this is also why it's so much longer…). Well, I hope you enjoy. =D_

"I cannot fathom what it is about that foul abomination that has caused you to become so attached, Aleksander." Volger said with a pointed glare. Alek was unsure of who the Count was talking about; Deryn, who he had barely talked to since she'd gone to Barlow's cabin, or Bovril, who was making cute engine sounds and entertaining Klopp.

"That's precisely what an engine sounds like when it needs an oil change!" Klopp exclaimed happily. Volger then turned with a harrumph to watch the other machinist who were monitoring the engines. With that, Alek knew that it was Bovril that the man strongly disliked, he sighed in relief. The Count had been complaining about the Loris from the beginning, he was used to Volgers detest of the Darwinist animal.

Alek rolled his eyes and turned back to Master Klopp. Bovril giggled, loving the extra attention, and then climbed up onto the man's shoulder. The Machinist laughed with glee and let the Loris crawl across his outstretched arms.

"You know, Young Master, the Darwinist can't be too bad if a creature like this came from them. Don't listen to that old man, he's just stuck in the past. Look at me though! I can adapt!"

"Adapt," Bovril said in perfect German. Alek smiled as he watched the two carry on. He began to understand a small part of what Dr. Barlow might have intended for the Perspicacious Loris. Bovril had a way of creating a special bond with anyone it interacted with. Small as the 'beastie' was, Alek had a hunch that Bovril could easily help to influence the war.

"Alek! There you are!" Alek glanced behind him to see, speak of the devil, Dr. Barlow approaching. "Hello Klopp," she said quickly in German, then she switched back to English and continued. "Have you seen Mr. Sharp? We'll be docking in Japan shortly and I need him in his best suit to assist me."

Alek shook his head and raised an eyebrow at the Boffin. Barlow had told Deryn not to use her right arm as much as possible. What kind of help could a one armed Midshipman give? "No, I haven't seen…him."

Dr. Barlow sighed and then seized his wrist. "Well, come along then, Dylan hasn't taken Tazza for a walk today either. I know I told the boy to take it easy, but he does have another arm."

Alek looked behind him as Barlow began to drag him away. He had a sinking fear that the Boffin was going to make _him _take the Thylacine for a walk while she continued her search for the girl. Alek was more than willing to help, but if possible he really didn't want to walk Tazza, fabricated or not Tazza made Alek feel anxious. His eyes landed on Bovril who was still sitting contently on Klopp's shoulder. When it saw Alek's stare it giggled and said "Stay." As if Alek were its mother he nodded, giving Bovril permission. "Okay.

"Wait just a second Dr. Barlow!" Volger said rushing over to the two. "Where exactly are you taking the Prince?" Alek looked in shock up at the Count. He seemed to be in a more sour mood than usual. Barlow kept her calm. "I'm taking Aleksander to help me find Mr. Sharp. The Midshipman has seemed to have disappeared."

Volger's lip curled in disgust. "I say good riddance to her, she was nothing but trouble, and Aleksander will not help you find her because he's supposed to be working at the engines."

Dr. Barlow had continued to drag Alek along as she and Volger fought. They were now entering the inside of the ship. He looked between Volger and Barlow desperately, pleading with his eyes for them to stop. It seemed quite pointless for them to fight, and Alek did not want to hear it. He was suddenly jerked to a stop, as Volger had grabbed a hold of Alek's other arm and was pulling him back towards the deck. Barlow glared at him.

"Listen here sir. It's Alek's choice whether he wants to help find her or not. From what I gather working on the engines all day is quite tiring and can produce a lot of boredom in a fifteen year old boy. I was going to give him a break and have him help me. The ship is landing in Japan shortly and I thought that he would like to go into town with me to refresh some supplies…"

The Count's face was red. "You do not decide what he will or will not do! I was placed as guardian over him by his father! Therefore I am the one who will choose what he does on this ship!"

Anger welled up and came to the surface inside of Alek. He pulled his arm away from Volger and Dr. Barlow and glared. "Excuse me, but I believe I can make my own decisions, I'm not some delusional child that does not know what is going on around me. I can fend for myself!"

Dr. Barlow raised her hands in the air and then gestured toward Alek. "Did you hear Count? Exactly as I was trying to tell you…"

"He wouldn't be acting this way if…" Alek sighed exasperated and then stormed off angrily. He'd never expected for Barlow and Volger to truly get along, they were far too much alike, but never had Alek dreamed that they would fight over something so…ridiculous.

He came upon the machine room door and then leaned against it, staring crossly at the adjacent wall. He wished that they would stop treating him like a child. Alek was fifteen, he could make his own decisions and mistakes. He wasn't the delicate Austrian Prince he had been when first meeting the _Leviathan_, he had changed, he had matured, and none of the adults seemed to see that.

He was about to give into the urge to hit something when he heard a familiar voice coming from inside the room. Immediately the pressure building up in his chest loosened as he slowly eased the door to the machine room open.

"You dirty piece of clart!" Deryn said as Alek peeked his head in. the girl was sitting, legs crossed, against the far wall, with a pencil and sketchpad in her hands, and her head thrown back, eyes closed. Alek then entered the room and shut the door behind him.

She jumped when she realized Alek was there. Then she punched him with her good arm and went back to glaring at the sketches. Alek laughed, even though his arm began to hurt. "Dr. Barlow is looking for you," He said with a chuckle. "She says you haven't walked Tazza today."

"Aye, you bet I haven't!" she said. Alek watched as she tried once again to get the lining of whatever she was drawing just right, but once again she stopped. "Stupid arm!" she growled.

"You're not supposed to use that…" Alek started but Deryn just shook her head. "Babying it won't make it any stronger, and I'm not _permitted_ to do any work around the ship, unless the lovely Boffin asks me to, how else am I supposed to work this thing?"

Alek shrugged and joined her along the wall. "So are you hiding from her then? She seems quite worried about the Thylacine…and she wants you to assist her once we reach Japan."

Deryn sighed "Its as if she believes I'm her personal man slave!" then she looked up at him with a smile, her eyes gleamed. "You said 'we' again. I tell you, your Archdukeliness, you'll be a converted Darwinist yet!"

Alek rolled his eyes, "Not likely." He glanced at her drawing pad. "Deryn?"

"Yes?" she took in a breath, and looked down self consciously at her work.

"Why are you attempting to draw my Stormwalker?" Deryn had drawn different things all across the page, each one more random than the last. A lot of it contained pictures of realistic looking bovril's or messenger lizards, but a few were of machines and gadgets that couldn't be mistaken for anything other than that of a Clankers.

Deryn turned to Alek with a false look of alarm. "Attempting? You had better take that back Aleksander Ferdinand! I'm bloody brilliant! I'd like to see you try and do better with a broken arm."

"I'll do it!" Alek said. He took the paper from Deryn's hand and she lunged to get it back. "Don't think that I won't break your barking arm, just because you're an archduke, your highness!" she said reaching with her left arm.

Deryn's arms were a bit longer than Aleks, and so she quickly got her sketchpad back. Then she placed it to the side as Alek wrapped his arms around her waist. Deryn almost did the same, but then she stiffened and sat straight, her back once again against the wall. "I heard Count Volger out there," she said quickly.

Alek sighed at the change of subject, but didn't argue. "Yes, he didn't want me to come find you. He and Barlow won't quit fighting."

Deryn rolled her eyes and let her hands rest in her lap. "Their absolutely mad for each other. The two bum rags only fight to deny their feelings for each other you know."

Alek had to smile at the thought of Dr. Barlow and Count Volger actually being attracted to each other. He would admit that Dr. Barlow was a beautiful woman, but their personalities seemed like two magnets with both north poles touching, a natural repellant. "Perhaps that is why Count Volger has been in such a sore mood recently." Alek mused, "He doesn't want to be in love with a Darwinist."

Deryn met Alek's eye and then snorted. "Alek, Volger's mood hasn't been affected by Barlow in the least. In fact, as long as we're not involved the two get along swell, they even worked together to manipulate me! You want to know why the man is having a worse temper than usual. He can tell that you're about to take him through exactly what your father did."

Alek felt a pang in his heart at the mention of his father. Deryn took her sketchbook and placed it back into her lap. She started to draw once again. "That makes little sense," he denied "I haven't told the Count anything."

"Aye, but it makes perfect sense you bum rag." She looked up from her drawings with a half smile. "When I got onto the ship you hugged me, longer than a friend would. Count Volger saw and now he believes that you would be foolish enough to fall in love with me. Ow!" Deryn sighed and then said a few words about her arm that Alek would feel too uncomfortable to repeat.

Alek crossed his arms, feeling slightly offended. "Why would it be foolish to love you?"

Deryn's eyes widened and a fresh blush colored her cheeks. She coughed and then switched the pencil to her left hand. "Maybe this will make me ambidextrous…"

"Deryn…" Alek placed his hand over hers to stop her doodling. She looked up at him and sighed. "Blisters Alek!" she said "Sometimes you can be such a dummkopf! Think back to what you told me back in Istanbul. You don't know this, but I actually was going to tell you that night who I was, but you had to go and barking ruin it. Do you remember what you said?"

Alek shook his head in confusion; he had said a lot of things in Istanbul… Deryn made a sound similar to an exasperated growl. "I was going to tell you until you began in on saying how you would run a mile, how you would never put your children through what happened to you. I'm more common than Lilit, Alek, and I'm barking poor too. You know as well as I do that we wouldn't stand a ruddy chance. I…I wouldn't do that to you."

Alek stared blankly at the machinery standing in front of them. Since he'd found out about Deryn, he hadn't thought about his responsibilities at all. He never thought that there would be a problem with them being together, other than trying to conceal it from the members of the ship. Now he felt like he understood a little bit more of why Deryn had been so hesitant, so _guarded_. She didn't want him to face ridicule or risk the throne just for her.

They remained silent, both engrossed in their own thoughts. Alek couldn't keep his mind off of the scroll Volger had given him. Now that the Pope was dead, he knew that the paper may not even mean anything if they couldn't convince the new Pope of its validity. Would all these things he had sworn he would never do even matter if he couldn't become the Archduke of Austria? For a brief moment he wished that the circumstances were different. Why did there have to be such a ridiculous law about marrying commoners? Because of this law he and his parents had lived unhappily for most of Alek's life. His father had always wanted nothing more than for Sophie and Alek to be accepted, and for Alek to rightfully inherit the throne. He would feel guilty if he ever had to have Deryn go through what his mother went through.

"I…I never thought about that." Alek said miserably.

Deryn placed her sketchpad to the side and then nudged him in the ribs. "I imagined so. Ever since I saved your bum you've been acting like a lovesick puppy." She tried to smile at him, but it was evident that she was upset. "It would be a lot easier though if you weren't a barking prince." She said dryly.

He nodded and then heavily sighed. He looked down in alarm as Deryn weaved her fingers through his and squeezed, it was comforting…natural. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind; maybe not all hope would be lost. He quickly told Deryn about the pope and the possibility that the document wouldn't matter any longer.

She didn't seem to be as excited about the news as he had expected her to be. "Well," she began, "that could be good for us, but how are we supposed to end this bloody war then? Countries would still want you dead Alek! We can't just solve all our problems with just a squick of luck! That's wishful thinking! I'll tell you what we…"

"Why don't we just see what happens?" Alek interrupted. "Nothing is permanent right? Well maybe things will work out, we just don't know. I just…if I can I don't want to rule out a relationship between us yet…"

Deryn was silent for a moment, then quietly she said "It sounds good, but it would be guaranteed that one if not both, of us will get hurt in the end. I don't want to lose everything because of something daft." She then surprised Alek once again by wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his chest. She grimaced at first from moving her right arm, but the pain soon ebbed. "Ever since my Da died… I've tried to not become attached to things. I've already grown far too fond of the _Leviathan_ and was scared I'd have to leave. Now you…" she stopped and took in a deep breath.

"We can always be friends Deryn," Alek tried to comfort her. "If for some reason we cannot be together, we will still stay friends."

She looked up at him, her eyes examining every part of his face. "Promise?" she asked softly. She sounded as if she hated what she had just said. Her determination to never show weakness could almost be laughable if their conversation weren't so serious.

"Yes." He said confidently.

"That sounds like it may work for now…" she said with a smile. She scooted closer to him until their faces were barely a centimeter apart. "I've something to tell you then, Aleksander Ferdinand." Alek's heart sped up as he waited for her to continue, he wondered if she could hear it as it beat so erratically inside his chest. She watched the curiosity cross his face and smirked. "I…well the truth is that I've had feelings for you for quite a while. Long before Volger or anyone else knew my secret." Before Alek could respond Deryn kissed him. He didn't hesitate to run his fingers through her soft golden hair as he kissed her back. The moment seemed perfect until the door to the machine room opened and Dr. Barlow ruined everything.

This time Alek was first to pull away and Deryn was more hesitant. Dr. Barlow was standing in the doorway with frustration written across her face. Deryn noticed her and began to blush profusely. "Dr. Barlow!" she cried.

The Boffin rolled her eyes and placed a hand on her hip. "Please Miss. Sharp, don't think that I didn't know this would happen, if it weren't already. I am perfectly fine with these on goings as long as they do not interfere with your job." Her face darkened, "Not that I can say that same about Volger," she sighed and then continued. "Now I sent for you to get into your suit! You're still assisting me once we reach Japan which will be in little time now." Barlow sent a glare directed at Alek. "You're welcome to come, Aleksander, but if you bring that pompous example of a count I will not acknowledge you the rest of this day."

Alek raised an eyebrow at Deryn, who was trying to stifle a laugh. "I_ told _you they were mad for each other." She said with a grin.

"We do not have time to talk!" Barlow said impatiently. "Get to it Miss. Sharp!"

With a sigh, Deryn collected her sketchpad and utensils, gave one final wave to Alek, and then followed Dr. Barlow out of the machine room.

After a few minutes Alek stood up then too and headed towards his own room wondering what Japan would be like and how he would be able to convince Volger of their need to stay on the ship.


End file.
